O’Sullivan books final spot

Ronnie O’Sullivan recovered from a slow start to fend off Stuart Bingham in a deciding frame and reach his first Coral UK Championship final for seven years.

Trailing Bingham 4-1 in the early stages at York’s Barbican Centre, O’Sullivan turned on the style with breaks of 62, 68, 67 and 117 to force himself level at 5-5, and reduce the match to a test of nerve.

But by then Bingham was wobbling badly, and O’Sullivan duly clinched a 6-5 victory to tee up a shot at Judd Trump or Stephen Maguire in Sunday’s final.

The four-time champion inched in front, before setting up his match-winning break of 94 with a tremendous long red.

O’Sullivan has won this tournament four times before, most famously as a 17-year-old in 1993.

He is looking to cap a hugely successful 2014, in which he has landed titles at the Masters, Welsh Open, and Champion of Champions, as well as finishing runner-up at the World Championship.